Assignment
Read through the Activity assignment. Develop three claims, and select one to take through the From Claim to Draft process. Develop your outline into a draft (no less than 500 words).
You are encouraged to complete a first draft of this piece, then revise your work. Submit the entire assignment as one document (include three claims, one outline, and one final draft).
Activity
Practice writing claims based on the following issue question: Should the college implement a mandatory attendance policy? Write three versions of a claim: fact, value, and policy. Be prepared to share your three claim statements with several classmates for their review.
From Claim to Draft
• With a claim in hand, you now are ready to map out your argument ¬strategy-to create an outline of body paragraph topics, to jot down five or so details for each paragraph, and to lay out a logical order for your paragraphs. Using the strategy questions and outline, you should be able to create a useful outline for your argument. Remember that your claim is your promise to your readers; it tells readers what they can expect you to deliver in the body paragraphs. Thus, write your claim out at the top of the first page of your outline, and keep your body paragraphs aligned with it. However, keep in mind that you are planning-nothing is yet set in stone, not even your claim. If you come across an essential topic or idea that your claim does not include, revise your claim to embrace this topic.
• Finally, with an outline in hand, you are ready to write that first draft. Here is how we suggest you proceed:
1. Proclaim yourself an expert on the issue; most certainly, you are more informed than many other laypersons.
2. Put your sources aside-out of sight-and write a first, fast-draft by using only your outline/planning pages and the knowledge in your head that you have gained through intensive study of the issue.
By writing this first draft-on your own-you will avoid the common pitfall of over relying on source material and, as a consequence, losing ownership of your writing. Once you have cranked out a first draft, you can return to your sources/notes and identify relative information to flesh out your draft and, thus, enhance the authoritative basis of your argument.